My tenants would like to renew their contract which is due to expire in one month. I carried out an inventory at the start of their tenancy.
Does a new inventory need to be done? Or is the original one valid while it is the same tenants? - bear in mind the deposit etc can not be touched during this process (I will be renewing the contract through openrent).
Is it worth me asking the tenants to sign an additional page about the inventory which states that the inventory is valid from the date they first move in to when they move out regardless of how many times their contract is renewed during this time?
I look forward to any feedback you can provide me.
Rishi the inventory is just there to help you make deductions from the deposit when the tenants move out. It’s a snapshot of how the property was when they moved in that you use to compare with the state at the end.
If you have the same tenants when you renew, there’s no point doing another inventory, because i assume you wouldn’t be deducting anything from the deposit.
Now ---- if you do an inspection and there’s big damage to the property (I mean damage that costs most of the deposit to fix) then you might want to do another inventory, deduct some money, return the remaining deposit money, then renew, and reprotect the full deposit again. That’s all so that you are still protected against more damage. They should ‘top up’ the deposit if they have done damage so you still have protection
But if the property is looking ok, best to avoid all that admin/conflict of a deposit deduction while you’re mid tenancy and just wait until the end of the tenancy to do it.
I will not be making any deductions, but will do an inspection to check all is OK before the tenancy is actually renewed.
The deposit will stay protected in the same place, if there is a situation where there needs to be deductions made, then I will be re-evaluating renewing the tenancy.
I plan to amend the inventory to state that it is valid until the tenants move out regardless of the tenancy type (AST/periodic/renewed) and have them and myself sign it as this should cover me either way.